CVE-2021-38977

IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 does not set the secure attribute on authorization tokens or session cookies. Attackers may be able to get the cookie values by sending a http:// link to a user or by planting this link in a site the user goes to. The cookie will be sent to the insecure link and the attacker can then obtain the cookie value by snooping the traffic. IBM X-Force ID: 212782.

Published: 2021-11-15 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2021-38977 is rated Low Risk (31.4/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.52%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-38977

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.13% 0.52% +0.38%
2 2025-03-30 0.16% 0.13% -0.02%
3 2025-03-29 — 0.16% —

Full EPSS history (9 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-38977

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 2.8 1.4 [email protected]
3.1 3.0 LOW
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 1.6 1.4 [email protected]
4.3 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
 8.6 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-38977

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-38977

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
ibm security_guardium_key_lifecycle_manager 4.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_guardium_key_lifecycle_manager:4.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm security_guardium_key_lifecycle_manager 4.1.0.1 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_guardium_key_lifecycle_manager:4.1.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm security_guardium_key_lifecycle_manager 4.1.1 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_guardium_key_lifecycle_manager:4.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm security_key_lifecycle_manager >= 3.0, <= 3.0.0.4 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_key_lifecycle_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm security_key_lifecycle_manager >= 3.0.1, <= 3.0.1.5 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_key_lifecycle_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm security_key_lifecycle_manager >= 4.0, <= 4.0.0.3 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_key_lifecycle_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm security_key_lifecycle_manager 4.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_key_lifecycle_manager:4.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm security_key_lifecycle_manager 4.1.0.1 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_key_lifecycle_manager:4.1.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm security_key_lifecycle_manager 4.1.1 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_key_lifecycle_manager:4.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-38977

cvelogic Threat Intelligence